TO: USAC Officials
From: Shawn Farrell, Technical Director
USA Cycling has recently added the European helmet standard to its list of approved standards for legal bicycle racing helmets. In 1986, USA Cycling became the first cycling federation to make hard shell helmets required for all bicycle races. At that time we acknowledged numerous government agencies, such as SNELL, ANSI, and the US CPSC. In the last few years, the UCI has made hard shell helmets mandatory for all races, and a new standard has recently appeared on the market, the European Committee for Standardization. Helmets approved by the European Committee will carry stickers (ECS or CE EN1078) similarly to the stickers found in all American-made helmets.
Here is the text of the revised policy I concerning helmets:
At all times when participating in or preparing for an event held under a USA Cycling permit, including club rides, all licensees who are mounted on a bicycle must wear a securely fastened helmet that meets either the US DOT helmet standards or one of the following standards:
(1) American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard Z90.4;
(2) Snell Memorial Foundation Standard "B" or "N" series;
(3) American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard F-1447.
(4) Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standard CAN/CSA-D113.2-M;
(5) U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standard for bicycle helmets;
(6) European Committee for Standardization (CE EN1078) standard for bicycle helmets
Riders shall show documentary proof of this, such as a manufacturer's label, upon request by event officials. Beginning January 1, 2010, only the DOT and CPSC helmet standards will be recognized.
This is only a minor change in protocol. You as officials may request to check stickers if you are not sure about a helmet, or for any other reason for that matter. Beware that not all helmets made in Europe are legal helmets with the correct stickers.
I had a rider show up at a race with a questionable helmet. I asked to see the sticker and he showed it to me saying it was a legal helmet but unfortunately it was made in Italy and the sticker was in Italian and he was not sure what it said. I told him I did read Italian and what it said was this, “this helmet has not been tested in any laboratory and cannot be considered safe for bicycle racing”. The moral is that just because a helmet has a sticker does not mean it is legal. Look for the designation CEN on the euro helmets.
